


Chapter Fourty-Two: Runaways

by TheSecretFandom



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Escape, F/M, Motorcycles, Protective Jughead Jones, also featuring your under appreciate friendship, dream team, jeronica (friendship), teenage runaway, the sex bunker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-07 00:29:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16843513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSecretFandom/pseuds/TheSecretFandom
Summary: Jughead should've known something was wrong when Betty didn't return his phone call, but it took a phone call from Veronica Lodge to change his plans completely.----3x06 Fix-itorMy 3x07 Headcannon





	Chapter Fourty-Two: Runaways

"B, I have tried calling you a thousand times. I've got a major Archie crisis and I need your help." In her frustration, Veronica nearly threw her phone out the window.

Something was very, very wrong. Betty always called back after the third missed call. And it's not like it's been only a few hours… it's been an entire weekend. After leaving her fifth message, she was prepared to pull out the big guns and face Alice Cooper in the flesh.

It was dark when Veronica arrived at the Cooper household. The light from the street lamps were all she had to find her way. Even the light from Betty's window was turned off, though she new Betty slept with the light on. The light chased away the demons that haunted her dreams, and Veronica didn't blame her. There were a lot of sinister things lurking in the dark streets of Riverdale.

"Betty? Mrs. Cooper?" She knocked on the door, but knew it was for naught. Clearly, no one was home. She tried the handle, but the door was locked. A locked door was no problem for Veronica Lodge, though. In fact, breaking and entering was becoming her signature move.

Veronica snuck around to the side of the house. She'd never entered the house this way, but she knew for a fact that a ladder was hidden in the hedges beneath Betty's window. Her suspicions were confirmed when she set the ladder up leading to Betty's window and climbed to the top. The window was unlocked, no doubt for a certain Jones boy to sneak through.

Her bedroom looked untouched. Her laptop was sat on her desk, her backpack slung over a chair. Most shockingly, her Serpent jacket hung on a hook behind her bedroom door. If she was on a mission, especially at this time of night, she'd have that jacket with her.

The door to Mrs. Cooper's room was locked, making it all the more enticing to pick the lock. Betty had taught her well and Veronica had the door open in a moment. The room looked exactly as Veronica would imagine. The floral duvet was perfectly folded over the bed with at least five decorative pillows.

"Where would Alice Cooper hide clues?" Veronica glanced in the closet, but wasn't quite prepared to tackle that disaster. Instead, the side table seemed like the most likely hiding place. She wasn't looking forward to digging through a recently divorced, middle-aged woman's side table drawer, but for Betty she would do just about anything.

Thank God, she found nothing strange other than Betty's cell phone. She reached to pick it up and a post-it note fluttered to her feet.

Safe at Sisters

Suddenly, it all became clear. Alice had a history of hiding her problems at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy and this time, it seemed, Betty was her biggest problem.

"Oh my God, Jughead! That bastard is with Archie!" In all of her distraught over Archie being gone, she hadn't even thought about where Jughead might be. If he were in Riverdale, he would have surely noticed Betty's absence and gone to find her already.

She whipped out her phone, suddenly grateful she hadn't thrown it out the window earlier that day.

"Jughead Jones, I know where you are and if you hang up on me I swear to God I will burn this entire town to the ground."

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They hadn't made it far in a day and a half. The stretch of railroad seemed never ending, and with Archie's injury they couldn't walk at quite the pace Jughead had hoped. They only made it as far as Centerville when his phone started to ring.

That must be Betty calling him back. He'd left her a message, telling her he was on a roadtrip with Archie and would be back in a week.

When he picked up his phone, he instead saw Veronica's name on his caller ID.

"Veronica?"

"Jughead Jones, I know where you are and if you hang up on me I swear to God I will burn this entire town to the ground."

"Wait, what?"

"I know you're with Archie."

"Archie isn't here… I don't know where he is."

Archie was shaking his head vigorously on the other side of the tracks, mouthing 'I'm not here.'

"Cut the bullshit, Jones. I think Betty's in trouble, so I need both of you to get your asses back to Riverdale right now."

Jughead suddenly forgot where he was and where he was going. All thoughts reverted back to Betty, and the declined phone call from two nights ago.

"We'll turn back around right now, but what…?"

"Dude, I'm not here… remember?"

"Archie, I love you like a brother, but I need you to shut your goddamn mouth or I will rip out your stitches and leave you here to die."

"Dude, harsh…"

"Veronica, what's wrong? Where's Betty?"

"I think she's at the Sisters, we need to get her out right now."

"Veronica, I need you to get a car and pick us up at the Centerville bus station. Bring the Serpents."

"I don't think that's a great idea, this needs to be a covert operation."

"Cheryl and Toni then. They know the place." Jughead was frantic, and Archie's confused glances were only annoying him further. "Hurry, Veronica."

"Ok, I'll be there soon."

As soon as he hung up the phone, Jughead ripped his beanie off his head and threw it to the ground. Archie watched him as he paced, stomping back and forth beside the tracks. "Fuck!"

"Jug, please tell me what's going on."

His fingers tugged at his hair, the words in his head unable to be formed into sentences. "She's at the Sisters. Fuck! Next time I see Mrs. Cooper I swear to God, I'm gonna…"

"The Sisters? You mean the group home?"

"That's not what it is!" Jughead bit back. He knew the shady dealings of the Sisters, and Betty was not receiving any real therapy there. "It's a demented asylum, hell bent on brainwashing anyone unfortunate enough to be sent there. Illegal therapies, forced treatments… Polly was sent there when she was pregnant, and so was Mrs. Cooper. God dammit, how could she do this to her?"

Jughead was raving at this point, but he'd snatched his beanie back and yanked it over his head. It was just another mile forward to the Centerville train station, and the bus station was on the other side of the street. If Archie could pick up the pace just a little bit, they'd get there in twenty minutes.

"Okay, Jug. It's going to be okay. We're gonna get her out of there."

"I'm getting her out of there." Jughead picked up a fist sized rock and chucked it into the trees. A frustrated, strangled sort of scream ripped from his throat. "Then I'm burning that place to the ground."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been only a day and a half that she'd been locked in here. Her mother was on her mind, but not because Betty missed her. It was because Betty knew this was it. This was the last tie her mother had to break before losing her forever. She couldn't go back home when she got out of here.

It wouldn't take long for Jughead to find her. When he found her missing from home, he'd know where her mother had sent her. It was the only explanation as to why she wouldn't have told him where she was going.

That's what she kept telling herself, but as her second night in the cement block prison cell approached she worried about what kind of trouble Jughead could have gotten himself into. Maybe he'd been playing the game and ascended. Or maybe he'd confronted Hiram or the Ghoulies again.

She was being walked from the cafeteria to her 'room,' which she preferred to refer to as her cell. The windows were few and far between, but she could tell it was just past dusk. The last traces of the sunset still lingering in the sky.

Room 307 was too high to jump from, even if she thought she could get past the guards without a distraction. The door was locked with a deadbolt on the outside, so she couldn't even pick her way out. Her only chance was for someone to unlock it from the outside.

She moved quickly as they approached her door. Betty had managed to keep the ponytail holder she'd been wearing when they brought her in, and a bobby pin she'd hidden under her tongue. Hooking the bobby pin onto the ponytail, she wrapped it around the door handle as the nun walking with her unlocked the deadbolt.

The tears only came when the door was locked behind her and she was finally alone again. She sat on the windowsill, sobbing into her knees. She was already broken in so many ways, and too much time in this place might take the last of the fight out of her.

"Juggie, please hurry."

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Veronica pulled up to the Centerville bus station in FP's beat up old truck and the two Jones' bikes in the truck bed. Two boys sat outside on a bench. While Archie was hiding his signature red hair under a hideous baseball cap, there was no disguising his jawline. She felt a mix between anger and relief upon seeing him again, but pushed the feeling aside when she finally jumped out of the truck.

As she approached the boys, Toni and Cheryl rode up on the back of the former's bike.

Jughead was on his feet as soon as the truck came into view. Veronica tried to stop him, to tell him her plan, but he marched past her to the truck as Archie slumped behind him, avoiding eye contact with Veronica.

"I'll deal with you later." She said with a glare. "Meanwhile, Jughead… Toni and I have broken in and escaped with Cheryl in the past, so I'm thinking you drive the getaway bike?"

"Not a chance in hell, Veronica. I'm going in." Jughead dug in the back of the truck and pulled out the two Serpent jackets. "Where'd you get Betty's jacket?"

"I broke in to her room using that handy ladder you keep beneath her window." Veronica slipped on her own black jacket as she climbed into the truck.

"Are we getting this show on the road or what?" Cheryl almost seemed bored at this point.

"Let's do it, but… what plan did you all formulate anyway?"

"I'll tell you on the way, but let's get going." Veronica was in the middle seat already, Jughead and Archie piled in on either side.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jughead let the truck coast to a stop, lights off, at the edge of Fox Forest. Cheryl and Toni parked further in the woods, where the tunnel they'd used during their last breakout ended. The two girls would break in, undercover in the uniforms Cheryl had escaped in. They'd cause a distraction in some far corner of the building, allowing Jughead and Veronica to sneak in and find Betty.

"And what I'm I doing, exactly?" Archie asked once again.

"If they chase, you are the decoy. Take off in the truck and make sure they're following you."

Archie looked disgruntled at his duty, but didn't say anything as he let Veronica out of the truck.

"Sit tight, pal." Jughead clapped him on the shoulder. "We'll be back in no time."

Veronica followed Jughead, pushing one of the bikes silently around the tree line. "You're sure we can get in on this side?"

"No," Jughead admitted. "But Betty and I got in this way last year when we came back the night Polly first disappeared."

"We'll make do."

They parked the bikes and set their sights on a forgotten side door. Jughead knew there was a stairway just inside the door, and if the distraction goes well they shouldn't be stopped by any guards along the way. Now to wait for a signal from Toni and Cheryl.

"Just in case the door has been locked, do you have a bobby pin handy?" Jughead asked, his eyes not leaving the door.

"Of course I do. Betty has taught me well."

The sound of shattering glass at the other end of the building shocked them into action. The two ran up and waited for frantic footsteps to disappear before they broke in. Jughead tried the door handle, but his gut hadn't lied. The door was locked.

"How fast can you pick it?"

"Faster than you can." Veronica pulled a bobby pin from her hair, making quick work of the lock.

They moved up one level to the lobby, where the usual check-in desk sat abandoned. Veronica hopped over the desk and was already flipping through a binder labeled 'Check-Ins.'

Jughead yanked the binder from her hands, eager to do something. He couldn't just stand there like an idiot. He found the previous day's check ins. There couldn't be many…

"There." He jabbed his finger at the number next to her name. "Room 307."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Veronica made a move to hop back over the desk, when Jughead caught sight of two night guards rounding the corner.

"Shh!" Jughead ducked around the corner. "Veronica, find a way out and wait at the bikes. I'm getting Betty."

Jughead sprinted toward the nearest staircase.

"Jughead!" Veronica tried to follow, but the two men were too close now and she couldn't escape without being seen.

The third floor was dead silent. And with no markings pointing toward the rooms, he had to try two different hallways before finding 301...302… finally, halfway down the hall he found 307. Already, he could feel the impending doom of being caught before he could get her out.

"Betty?" Jughead knocked lightly on the door. "Are you in there?"

Shuffling footsteps and a few sniffles approached the door. "Jug?"

"Thank fuck." Jughead let out a sigh of relief, but he wasn't in the clear yet. If only he had a… there, wrapped around the door handle, was a ponytail holder with a bobby pin attached. "Betty you're a genius."

"Jug? What's happening?" Betty sounded closer now, only a few inches of metal separated them. "I heard a crash earlier."

"No time to explain. Just hope our distraction stalls them long enough." He almost had the lock, just one more click would do it. "I think there are two guards coming this direction though. Got it!"

The satisfying click of the lock told Jughead he was in. He pulled the heavy door open and before he could even get a good look at her, Betty was in his arms. He could feel the tears on her cheeks as she buried her head in his neck. He held on to her for a long moment, as if she were too fragile to ever let out of his sight again. He slid the ponytail holder from his wrist to hers, a gesture she returned with a slight smile and quick kiss on his cheek.

"Oh shit…" Jughead saw the guards coming around the corner almost too late. He grabbed Betty's hand and ran to the end of the hallway, where the emergency exit led out onto a fire escape. Jughead ran ahead first, hopping the last few feet to the ground and letting Betty land in his arms as he helped her down.

"The bikes are on the side of the building, Veronica's waiting there… Hurry!"

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Betty ran ahead of Jughead, but could feel his hands reaching out behind her. Offering up his protection if needed.

"Hey!" Betty glanced back fast enough to catch a glimpse of the guard who came sprinting out after them. She kept running, but Jughead steered them into the trees. "You can't hide!"

"No, but we can run." Jughead said under his breath. "Take my jacket and get on the bike. Go to the bunker."

Jughead shrugged off his jean jacket as they approached Veronica and the bikes.

"Betty!" Veronica let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God you're o-"

"No time, Veronica. We gotta go." Jughead hopped on his father's bike and pulled on his Serpent jacket. Veronica climbed on behind him, wearing Betty's jacket and hiding her hair under the helmet.

"Jug, wait!" Betty reached out to him. She'd' just been reunited with him, and now he was speeding away from her again.

"Betty, please." Jughead kissed her quickly on the forehead and pushed her back. "We'll meet you at the bunker."

Jughead revved up the bike and he and Veronica sped off in the opposite direction. Guards came running out of the front doors of the building now, followed by Sister Woodhouse.

"Catch that girl!" She shouted. "Follow them!"

Betty knew what Veronica and Jughead were doing, making her jailors believe that Betty was on the back of that bike. She watched until the bike had reached the trees on the other side of the clearing where the Sisters of Quiet Mercy stood as a dark, imposing shadow. The bike's engine cut suddenly, followed by the groaning start of a different engine.

FP's old blue truck knocked over a few signposts as it careened through the grass in front of the building. She couldn't see who was driving, and soon the truck disappeared back in the woods, following the dirt road that led back to the highway. The bike started again, and disappeared into Fox Forest. The guards split up, not sure which to follow.

Betty jumped on her bike and released the hand break. She rolled forward, they had left her to take the most direct path to the bunker. Betty took off, not bothering to look back. The bunker wasn't far…situated in an old, forgotten part of Fox Forest. It was far enough away that they wouldn't accidentally stumble upon it during the chase, but close enough that they wouldn't think she'd take refuge so near.

She didn't hear anyone following her, but took a long loop through the trees to make sure. She cut the engine and hid the bike under a patch of brush just fifty feet from the bunker entrance. She climbed into the bunker, the only place she felt safe anymore.

It looked exactly as she left it, save for Archie not laying crippled in the bed. Betty took a seat on the floor, her back against the ever growing Gargoyle King wall. She watched the door, counting down the endless minutes that passed as she waited.

She jumped when she heard the creaky door flip open.

"Jug?"

"Afraid not, dear cousin." Cheryl strutted into the room, Toni following close behind.

"You guys were a part of this?" Betty accepted a hug from both Cheryl and Toni. It felt forced, but she appreciated the human contact and familiar faces all the same.

"No Serpent left behind, right?" Cheryl said, looking back at Toni.

"We look after one another." Toni agreed, holding two fingers up in the Serpent salute.

Betty glanced behind them. "Are Veronica and Jughead with you?"

"No, we had a head start. Don't worry, they should be here soon."

The three girls sat in silence as they waited. Ten, then twenty minutes passed before they heard the door again. Archie slid down the ladder much more safely than he had the last time, landing hard on the metal floor.

"Archie!" Betty ran up to him, throwing her arms around his shoulders. "Where's Jughead? And Veronica?"

"They aren't back yet?" He glanced behind her, seeing only the other two girls. "I thought they had a head start."

"I'm going out to look for them." Betty made a move for the door, but Archie stopped her.

"You can't. I'll go look."

Just as Archie turned to leave again, a pair of familiar black boots came down the ladder. "No need to look for us, we're here."

Betty fell into Jughead's arms as soon as his feet hit the ground, and let him pull her out of the way of the entrance. Veronica came down next, taking Archie's hand as he offered it up. Archie wrapped her in a hug, whispering against her hair.

"As interesting as this little love fest is…" Cheryl started. "Toni and I are going to leave for a little bit of our own privacy."

Betty stayed wrapped up in Jughead's arms as long as she could, but they had to figure out what came next. Archie was still recovering from his a nearly fatal wound and Betty couldn't return home now. Archie and Veronica sat with their arms around each other on one side of the room, while Betty and Jughead did the same sitting on the bed.

"I can't go home." Betty said finally, choking on a sob. Jughead held her tighter. "Not after my mom sent me to that place."

"We aren't going home." Veronica said. "B, I got some essentials for you. A change of clothes, toothbrush, hair brush. Just to get you through the night. Jughead and I are going back to town and will get enough stuff for all of us. Clothes, toiletries and all the cash we can find."

Jughead pulled Betty onto his lap. "We're leaving Riverdale."

She turned her head back to look at him. "For good?"

Jughead nodded, his eyes flicking from her eyes to her lips. "For good."


End file.
